Charles W. Morgan a symbol of New Bedford's past, present and future

The return of the Charles W. Morgan is a symbol of what's been accomplished in recent New Bedford history, as well as what's still in store.

SIMÓN RIOS

NEW BEDFORD — The return of the Charles W. Morgan is a symbol of what's been accomplished in recent New Bedford history, as well as what's still in store.

"The city that lit the world will do it once again," said U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, making a rare appearance in the city for the homecoming of the Morgan. "But this time, when New Bedford lights the world, instead of whale oil, it will be with the lights from wind energy."

Warren was one of many officials at Saturday's welcoming ceremony for the Morgan's visit to her birthplace.

Though some see the old whaler as a sign of a bygone golden age, others see the city's fishing and nascent wind industry as a continuation of that prestigious past.

The whaling industry "was the same irrepressible spirit that sent forth pioneers across the western frontier, landed Marines on the beaches of Iwo Jima, put a man on the moon, and invented the iPhone," said Mayor Jon Mitchell.

Mitchell commended Mystic Seaport, the group that owns and restored the vessel, saying their resolve in seeing it through is consistent with the spirit of the Yankee whalers themselves.

"The idea of restoring a 170-year-old whaling ship and sailing her again on the open Atlantic was nothing if not ambitious," said Mitchell.

"The best ideas are often the ones initially deemed to be crazy."

The Morgan's arrival seven decades after it left was also a major point of pride to representatives from Mystic.

"Seventy-three years ago we made a commitment to care for this remarkable treasure," said Steven White, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. "She is at once a maritime artifact, a relic, an iconic ship, an ambassador, a platform for learning, and the last of her kind."

"In bringing the Morgan back to New Bedford, we not only validate the deep maritime and whaling culture here in New Bedford, but also celebrate the skills and talents of the women and men who have overseen the careful restoration and documentation of the Morgan, from 1941 until today."

Nathaniel Philbrick, a Nantucket-based historian and writer, gave the keynote speech, speaking of the Morgan as a microcosm for a bygone era.

"Like so much of American history, whaling was violent and cruel and extraordinarily wasteful, but it was also what made possible the cultural legacy of this great and diverse city," Philbrick said.

Employed on the New Bedford whaleships were Wampanoags and African-Americans, later joined by Azoreans, Cape Verdeans and South Sea Islanders, Philbrick said — the citizens of New Bedford are the citizens of the world, and whaling was where it began.

"By connecting New Bedford to every corner of the world, whaling initiated what has become an irrevocable process of globalization," Philbrick said.